Birthday Party Food, what do you serve?

mummypops

Hello Lovely Old Stylers.
I'm generally a lurker but you all have such great ideas that I'm hoping you can help.

This week is my daughters birthday and we are having a family party next weekend with approx. 20 members of the family aged 6-73. I started to create a food list and it got me thinking I always seem to serve the same thing. A HM quiche, sausage rolls, salad, dips, potato wedges etc.... and I wondered what does everyone else serve.

Dessert is covered, we will have birthday cake:D and I have borrowed a chocolate fountain:T.
So lovely old stylers, what other tips, tricks and ideas do you have for a buffet.

All ideas welcome, thanks

bluebag

I tend to do exactly what you do, sausage rolls, quiche, chicken legs, salads etc, etc. I do this for three reasons,

1/ i know that most people including vegetarians can find something to eat, and anything that had gluten, sugar etc is fairly obvious to those who want to avoid it.

2/ it's simple to portion and cost.

3/ it's pretty stress free.

Hope your party goes well whatever you decide to do.

dingdongsaving

I love "party food" & often do different combinations including the things you've listed. I also love getting some sausages from the butchers & cooking them with a drizzle of honey (small sausages can be served as it, or larger ones can then be chopped into chunky bits & eaten with picks). I also always have bread & butter on the table for people to dip & fill up on.

Sometimes hubby also craves something hot at a buffet, so our gatherings in the cooler months often include a veggie/meat chilli with a pot of rice, some nachos, a bowl of sour cream/sprinkling of cheese/a few chopped spring onions or a pot of beans & a hm slaw &some crispy jackets straight from the oven. Bit of salad...& both options are just as easy, cheap & tasty as our normal spread.

I love a party though, & def. feel you can't go wrong with a buffet of any type! Who can resist a little nibble when there's a smorgasbord of delicious treats?

Brambleberry

An updated version of the cocktail sticks in a grapefruit trick is nice, using things like olives / meats /cheeses, sort of like antipasto on sticks.
Interestingly there are still a lot of people of a certain age who get excited about the pickled onion, cheddar, pineapple and mini-tinned-hotdog variety!

jackyann

I do "jam tart tin" savouries - easier than quiche (developed from the French "!!!!aladiere") edit: this has been changed by the mods, took me ages to realise why!!

Line jam tart tins with pastry. Dab in: tomato sauce (I use a jar thickened up a bit with puree) as a base, though I usually leave some without.
Then add - halves of the little mozzarella cherries that most supermarkets sell, tiny bits of chorizo / pancetta (also often sold in packets) slices of olive etc.

Classy, but you do need to grill at the last minute, are the little cocktail blinis you can buy. Take from under the grill, slather with cream cheese (I use a mix of light cream cheese & light creme fraiche) then top with a sliver of smoked salmon, or "caviar". You can do this with crackers / flatbreads if you don't want the hassle of blinis.

You can use flatbread / crispbread to make "open sandwiches" much loved in the 60s!

Home made tiny onion bahjees with a yoghourt / raita dip

And where I live, it's not considered a party without a proper pork pie, centre stage.

Have a lovely time!

Pollycat

Maybe do a bowl of pasta salad?

I tend to do potato salad & coleslaw - both home made.
And redslaw which has red cabbage, beetroot, radish & red onion in it.

NewShadow

You haven't said kids party, so I tend towards:

Meat

A side of salmon or similar (bought while on sale - looks impressive and any leftovers are easily used)

Cold sliced roast (beef or gammon sliced thin with my meat slicer)

Shredded spiced chicken (garlic and lemon or paprika and cumin)

Vegi

Mini omelettes ( one egg cracked in a muffin tray with cheese scraps and bits of veg)

Roasted mushrooms and garlic dip

Flat mushroom 'pizza'

A cheese board with a hard mature, a blue, and a soft or crumbly, and pickles

'Slaws - as mentioned above, but I tend to add apples and grapes

Veg sticks with dips (homemade hummus, sour cream, light cream cheese (sometimes flavoured) whisked with creme fraiche) and diced/ sliced tomatoes

Carbs

HM wraps (just flour, yogurt and water)

HM rolls

Mini puff pastry cheese/ chilli twists

Mini quiches

Mixed bean salad (with a vinegar dressing)

Rice and/or Potato salad - Again I tend towards adding fruit to lighten the tastes.

sooty&sweep

Hi
I often cook a gammon joint with salads etc.
It appeals to most people & the leftovers are easily used.
Jen

PasturesNew

I've not had a birthday party since I was 9-10. But I do remember we had: jam sandwiches, cake, orange squash and biscuits. And, of course, jelly!

Back to your party though ....
Cheese straws would be easy and good.

In the 1970s, Ritz biscuits squirted with Primula were the height of sophistication.